Being a new kid in an unfamiliar town is never easy, and Angelica Valentino is learning it the hard way.
Just at one mistake in the place she always considers home, Angel wants to start over and have a clean slate.
"You're making good progress on the whole starting over process, mija." Miranda Valentino comments, noting the silence from her daughter. "I will meet up with you when school is over, okay?" she says.
"Okay, mom." Angel tells her as the two of them get out of the car and make their way towards William McKinley High School, with Angel as a student and Miranda as a new teacher.
Angel manages to get her school schedule, and once on her way out of Principal Figgins' office, she accidentally bumps into someone.
"Oh, God, I'm so sorry." she hears a male voice ring out.
"It's fine. Don't worry about it." Angel insists, putting her hands up.
Normally, she would've made a scene, mainly due in part of her materialism, but ever since her attempts of turning over a new leaf, she needs to learn about self-restraint.
The last thing she needs in her life is to mess everything up.
Angel was about to walk away before she got stopped. She looks up to see a blonde haired boy with a blue and yellow varsity jacket on. His lips do seem a little larger than normal, but in her mind, it just makes him even cuter.
"I was just wondering where Bletheim's class is at. I have her for Geometry." the boy asks her.
"It's as if I'm supposed to know." Angel replies back with a smirk.
"Oh, I didn't know that you're new as well." the boy, still unknown to Angel, says right back to her.
Her smirk lifts into a small smile as her hand grabs onto his. "Come on. Let's get lost together." she adds in before they walk off, with his hand in hers, and a flash of pink waved over his cheeks.
"Oh, I'm Angel by the way." she introduces herself. "Sam." he introduces back to her.
Throughout the first half of the day, Sam and Angel have stuck by together. The two new kids were sitting together at lunch. Angel situates herself across from Sam.
They got to know each other a little better; Sam moved to Ohio from Kentucky and, like Angel, has two younger siblings.
The sound of music and some of their peers breaking out into song seems to catch their attention.
(SONG: Empire State of Mind [SUNG BY: The New Directions])
Throughout their performance, Angel's attention was focused on either the three girls that came down from the stairs or on the girl singing Alicia Keys' verse in Empire State of Mind.
Once the performance is over, to which no one reacts to, Angel turns over to Sam with an incredulous look.
"I swear to God, I'm ditching school if we are living in a fucking High School Musical movie." Angel tells him.
The following day, Sam was planning on trying out for the Football team, so that leaves Angel on her own for the next portion of the day.
Angel walks down the halls and she spots the sign up sheet for the cheerleading squad, or as she finds out that they are called the Cheerios.
"You're planning on signing up for the Cheerios, aren't you?" Angel hears someone asking her. She diverts her attention to three girls, one was not wearing a cheerleading uniform while the two girls beside her did.
"For fuck's sake, is this school about being territorial." Angel mutters under her breath. The Hispanic cheerleader's face lifts up into a smirk. She already likes this girl.
"Look, from three hot bitches to another, it's a smart move." the girl said to her. "What's also a smart move is joining the New Directions." the blonde cheerleader near her adds in.
"I would take it into consideration if I knew what the hell that is and who all of you are." Angel tells the three girls in front of her.
"I'm Quinn, that's Santana and Brittany." the blonde in the center introduces. "Angelica. Just call me Angel." the girl introduces.
"Oh, and to your offer for the whole New Directions cult thingy, it's a maybe." she finishes as she walks away.
Later on that day, while walking to her Home Ec class, Angel discovers a ruckus going on. Pushing her way past a few students, she sees Quinn and Santana fighting.
"You did this to me. You told Coach Sylvester about my summer surgery!" Santana yells at Quinn.
"You have a surgery when you get your appendix out. You. Got. A. Boob job." Quinn emphasizes.
"Yep. Sure did!" Santana exclaims as she slaps the taste out of Quinn's mouth.
"You can't hit me!" Quinn yells back at her.
"Sure I can. Unless you got yourself knocked up again, slut!" Santana seethes out as the two fought viciously than ever before.
"Stop the violence." Brittany calls out to the two girls. On an instinct, Angel puts her arm in front of Brittany, in means of protecting her.
A man, who could be a Justin Timberlake impersonator, separates the two cheerleaders.
"H-H-Hey! Hey! What is this? What happened to us being a family?" he asks, getting in between the two girls.
"Oh, please. She has a family. She's a mother." Santana quips back before turning her back on her and leaving with Brittany.
"Walk away! And tighten up your pony before you get to class!" Quinn screams at a retreating Santana.
With the day ending, Angel is in the shotgun seat, with Miranda driving.
"So, Angel, make any new friends today?" Miranda asks.
"If you're insinuating if they're better than the old ones in California, then that's a definite yes." Angel tells her mother.
"Good to hear. You know, I always hated those old friends of yours. They seem to really like kissing up to your father and grandfather." Miranda adds in, to which Angel chuckles.
"What about you, mami?" Angel asks her.
"Only one. She's the new coach for the Football team. That Cheerios coach and the Justin Timberlake puta did not make us feel very welcomed at that place." Miranda seethes.
Angel was about to ask what happened before she spots a girl, running away from something, within the distance.
"Pull the car over." Angel tells her mother, which she did, and she exits the car.
Angel walks up to the girl. "Hey, you okay?" she asks, getting that girl's attention.
Angel recognizes her from her Geometry class, she is a foreign exchange student from the Philippines, her name being Sunshine Corazon.
"I'm not gonna hurt you, we go to the same school together." Angel tells the girl. Sunshine feels like she can trust Angel, so she follows her back to Miranda's car.
"Sunshine?" Miranda asks as her daughter and her student climb into the back of the car.
"Hi, Señora Valentino." she greets the woman, timidly.
"What were you doing out there?" Miranda asks as she begins to drive. Angel puts a comforting hand on Sunshine's shoulder as her other hand grabs her hand in comfort.
"I was only trying to figure out where to go. I didn't know it would lead me to a crack house." Sunshine tells the lady behind the wheel. When Sunshine admitted that she was at a crack house, Angel's mind was boggled.
Sunshine seems like a sweet girl. Why was she at a crack house?
"Wait, why the hell were you at a crack house?" Angel asks her.
"It was where to go to audition for the New Directions." she states.
The New Directions...it was that thing that Quinn, Santana, and Brittany were telling her about.
Angel got so side-tracked on the move and getting situated in a new school that she forgot about her answering maybe. She realized that maybe was not a definitive yes, so in her mind, it's all fine.
The two Valentino women got the girl back home to her worrying mother and they drove up to the luxurious mansion.
Walking into the mansion, the mother and daughter duo spot the patriarch of the family, Dante, setting up Monopoly with Leo and Camila.
"Ah, there they are." Dante announces as he greets his daughter with a kiss on the forehead and his wife a peck on the lips.
"Getting started on Monopoly without us, huh?" Angel asks her younger siblings.
Since getting settled into Ohio, the Valentino family created a new tradition: Monopoly Mondays.
They have a plethora of different themed Monopoly boards, so they decide to play Monopoly either every Monday or every other Monday.
"Cam hustled me for the dog." Leo complains to Angel. In hearing that, Angel shares a high five with Camila.
"See, she likes me more." the six-year old girl taunts him. "Both of you stop it." Angel points at the two of them before taking her piece, the shoe.
After a night of Monopoly, Tuesday rolls around. Angel was conversing with Sam before her arm practically got yanked out of its socket and she was turned to meet a pissed off Santana Lopez.
"Where the hell were you? You totally flaked out." Santana asks her, rage simmering from her tone.
"Okay, first of all, a maybe is not a definitive yes, and second, why would I join the New Directions after the stunt you pulled on Sunshine?" Angel retorts back at her, getting irate about the whole thing.
Santana was still furious that Angel did not show up at the auditions, but was confused about a supposed stunt.
"What on earth are you talking about?" she asks.
"Sending her to a crack house? You guys jeopardized her life." Angel tells her.
Santana then remembers Kurt and Mercedes talking about a Sunshine girl that Rachel convinced to audition.
Now it boils down to one person: Rachel Berry.
"Berry." she growls as she storms off to hunt Rachel Berry down.
"You know what that was about?" Sam asks her. "No idea." Angel replies.
Santana storms into the choir room, where she sees Rachel sitting on a chair in front of Mr. Schue, Mike, and Tina.
"I'm gonna kill you, Berry!" Santana screams at Rachel, but her attack is thwarted by Mr. Schue and Mike holding her back.
"Hey, that's enough, Santana!" Mr. Schue scolds her. "Of course you're gonna let her off with a slap on the wrist. Thanks to her, the new girl who reeks of Dolce & Gabbana won't consider auditioning. That beats it for finding new recruits, huh?" Santana seethes out as she storms out of the choir room.
Will Schuester doesn't know what Santana was talking about (and failed to ask her before she stormed out) until he overheard Mike and Tina.
"I saw her, Quinn, and Brittany talk to her. I think she's the new Spanish teacher's daughter." Tina told her boyfriend. "And from what my mom said, those two helped her out." Tina adds in.
Even though he refuses to admit it, Santana is right. He did let Rachel off the hook, majorly. He now has to make it right not only to Sunshine but also to Miranda for treating her poorly.
While on his quest to find Miranda, he heard giggling. As he inches further and further, the voices were louder.
"We should do this more often. Rather be with you than be slighted in the teacher's lounge." he hears, and he knows it's Miranda.
He knocks on the door. "Hey, Miranda, can I talk to you?" Will asks, interrupting a mother-daughter moment between Angel and Miranda. The older Valentino stands up, defensively, as she glares daggers into him.
"What now, Schuester, you here to exile me from my own classroom?" Miranda hisses out. Will took a step back, taken back by how Miranda would react, and he couldn't blame her.
"I'm actually here to apologize. I haven't been...exactly welcoming to you. And I want to make it up to you." Will starts. Miranda's hardened look has not faltered one bit as he continues.
"It's come to my attention that your daughter has been talking to some of the students of my Glee club and that she might audition. The New Directions would be at the auditorium at 4. I hope to see you there." Will continues as he leaves the Valentino women alone.
"Whatever is good for you, mija." Miranda tells her contemplating daughter.
"I know. I'm probably gonna be there for Quinn, Santana, and Brittany. Though maybe isn't a full yes, it's also not a definitive no. I'll probably ask Sunshine what she thinks of it." Angel tells her mom.
Later on that day, Angel was able to find the small Filipina. "Oh, hey Angel. Rachel actually apologized to me and invited me to audition." Sunshine told her.
"Interesting thing is I also got invited. The other Spanish teacher, Mr. Schuester, actually wanted to make amends with my mom by inviting me." Angel tells her.
"I got your back." Angel tells Sunshine as she grabs a hold of her hand.
At the auditions, Sunshine and Angel are in the wings of the stage.
"You can go first. Remember to have confidence and don't give a fuck about what they think." Angel advises Sunshine, who cringed at Angel's vulgarity. "Thanks, Angel."
Sunshine walks onto the stage and faces the Glee club first.
"Hi, I'm Sunshine Corazon, and I'll be singing Listen from the movie Dreamgirls." Sunshine addresses.
"Broadway show first." she hears a bratty voice ring out, only for that person to be shushed. And Angel could've sworn that someone said, "Shut up." to her.
(SONG: Listen [SUNG BY: Sunshine Corazon])
Throughout Sunshine's entire performance, a smile grows on Angel's face. Sunshine is a tiny girl and the voice to light up Madison Square Garden. After the performance, Angel can hear an applause for Sunshine, and rightfully so.
"Wow. Um…" Will chuckles in amazed disbelief. "Welcome to the Glee Club."
Sunshine went backstage to greet Angel, who is still speechless.
"I don't know what to say. That was phenomenal." Angel says to her, engulfing her into a tight hug.
"Thanks." Sunshine responds, bashfully. "I think you're up." she adds in once the crowd's applause has died down a bit.
When Angel walks on stage, everyone is taken aback with her choice of clothing. At that, she internally smirks.
Angelica Valentino knows she's a hot rich bitch, and wants everyone else to know it as well.
Mercedes turns to Santana. "You were right about her. She's a breathing Louis Vuitton catalog." she says to her.
Santana just shares a knowing smirk with Brittany, still avoiding Quinn after their fight.
"My name is Angelica Valentino, and I'll be singing Leave Out All The Rest by Linkin Park." Angel introduces.
(SONG: Leave Out All The Rest [SUNG BY: Angel Valentino])
Throughout the song, Angel could feel herself getting a little emotional. Every little mistake that she made back in California and every regret that she has to live with make the outcome of her performance to be raw and powerful.
After her performance, she was met with an applause. She huffs out a smile as Will stands up. "Welcome to The New Directions, Angelica!" he announces through that applause.
Angel can see everyone applauding her. All except one person. Or two, but Angel can tell that the guy wanted to join the applause, but is afraid of how the girl next to him would react.
Angel puts two-and-two together and guesses that the girl is Rachel Berry: the same girl who sent Sunshine to a crack house.
With a challenging look towards the bratty brunette, she concludes, "Just call me Angel.", and leaves the stage.
The following day, Angel finds herself in the company of two possible new friends, Kurt Hummel and Mercedes Jones.
"Okay, you definitely need to share some tips with me. You look absolutely flawless." Kurt says to her.
"We definitely need to schedule an appointment for retail therapy." Angel chuckles out, to which Mercedes responds with, "No doubt."
"Hey." she hears a voice come out. Angel turned around and it was Sunshine. She has a remorseful look on her face.
"You okay?" Angel asks her.
"I just want to let you know that I'm transferring." Sunshine says to her.
Angel could not necessarily blame her. "It'll be okay. If I were in your shoes, that Berry bitch would've been six feet under." the Latina tells her.
"Thank you for being there for me." Sunshine tells her as they share one last hug before Sunshine leaves her to Kurt and Mercedes, with a man holding her Hello Kitty backpack following her.
Santana walks up to the trio, intertwining Angel's arm with hers. "Excuse me, I need to borrow Angel, here, for a moment." Santana says to the two, taking Angel away.
"What's this about?" Angel asks her. "Coach Sylvester wants to talk to you." Santana tells her as she leads her towards the office to be face-to-face with a short-haired woman wearing a tracksuit.
"A little birdy told me that you were contemplating signing up for the Cheerios." the woman tells Angel. Angel realizes that this is the other half of the duo that did not make her mom feel welcome.
"I was, until I heard about your treatment of my mom." Angel snarls.
"You have a mouth on you, kid. And I like that. And yes, I have been...not so courteous towards my new colleague, but that's when I realize that you have potential. And with your past in Cheerleading, Dancing, and Pageantry, you clearly have what it takes to be a Cheerio." Coach Sylvester explains.
"That's why I call you here for an offer. I want you on the Cheerios. You are my secret weapon for winning Nationals." she adds in, giving her the uniform. "And don't worry, your mother says that she's fine with it if you're fine with it."
With one trip to the bathroom, Angel changes into the pristine polyester uniform, and meets up with Santana. The two of them come across Rachel and her boyfriend, who Angel learns to be Finn.
"Ugh, you guys sound like two octopi getting it on." Santana groans out in disgust, getting their attention on the two of them.
"I was just letting you know that I was showing our new teammate and Cheerio Angel around McKinley." Santana says, but Angel's eyes were zeroed in on Rachel.
"I know who you are, and I don't know what could've happened if my mom and I weren't there for Sunshine. But if you ever pull that stunt with me, I will fucking end you. We good?" Angel drawls out, igniting fear in the brunette, who is only two inches shorter than her 5'4" frame.
"Great talk." Angel concludes as she leaves with Santana.
"I have a feeling this is a start of a beautiful friendship." Santana says to Angel, and the both of them just laugh.